Specific Self-Help Books
A number of self-help books deal with specific problems and the development of problem-solving
skills in children, covering problem areas such as loneliness, worry, fighting, feeling angry, dealing with
bullies, separation/divorce, or coping with cancer or other health issues (e.g., Amos, 1994a, 1994b,
1994c, 1997; Amos & Spenceley, 1997a, 1997b; Braithwaite, 1997; Brown & Brown, 1998; Moses,
1997; Thomas, 1999). Some look more at outcomes like how to be brave, happy, and confident.
Most of the self-help messages are presented in a metaphor story such as “Johnny had a prob-
lem. This is what he did about it. And this is what happened when he did.” It is possible to direct
children to the stories relevant to their situations, either in bookstores or local libraries. If you are
working in a specialized capacity with kids in these areas, you may want to look out for the series that
best suits the needs of your clients. You can then present the messages by
■ reading the story to the child in the therapy/teaching session,
■ lending the child a copy to read between sessions, or
■ lending a copy to the parent to read with the child, thus involving the parent in the process
and, hopefully, benefiting the parent-child relationship at the same time.DRAMA AS A SOURCE OF HEALING STORIESWhat young child does not like to play dress-up or put on a play for parents or visitors? To have chil-
dren act out a story from either a book they have read, a story that has been read to them, or a story
they create around a particular topic helps those children identify with the character, discover the
means to resolution, and attain the outcome. If you are communicating through stories in a group
or classroom setting, there is a good opportunity to develop various characters and perhaps even put
on a play in front of the parents or the rest of the group or class. If you are consulting on a one-on-
one basis, it is still possible to act out a scenario by setting up a two-character dramatization of an out-
come story. For example, a therapist working with a child who is being bullied may ask, “Who is the
person who annoys you the most? Of the people you know, who is the one who can best handle that
person’s annoying behavior?” Here we are seeking a role model with whom the child may identify
and, hopefully, from whom he or she may learn to replicate successful coping strategies. “What do
you think he or she would do? Let’s make up a little play about it. I’ll pretend to be the annoying per-
son. You can pretend to be the person who handles it well. Let’s see where the story goes.”
32 Effective Storytelling for Kids and Teens
EXERCISE 3.1
■ Keep up with the children’s literature that might be relevant to the clientele you are
seeing.
■ Build your own list of books with the values or self-help outcomes they contain.
■ Read them to the child in therapy or set them as homework exercises for the child to
read.